Battle of Azwan
by skygga
Summary: The discovery of Azwan and the start of its liberation.
1. Prologue: Hidden Danger

Prologue: **Hidden Danger**

Imagine a desolate place devoid of plants, where water is rarer than gold. That is the Nihal desert. It is a place full of mysteries and dangers. Hundreds of travelers attempted to cross the desert, only to succumb to exhaustion and dehydration. Those that survive speak of the immerse suffering caused by the blazing heat of the sun and the blistering sand that drains away energy with every step. To make things worse, violent clouds of golden sand appear frequently, burying everything in its path. And yet many still attempt to enter, for there is a wealth of treasures to be obtained from the desert for those who managed to conquer it.

Deep within the Nihal desert lies the sandy dunes of the Nett pyramid. Many brave visitors attempt to challenge the pyramid, for clearing the pyramid's trials promises a hefty reward: equipment that is blessed by the Pharaoh. On the other side of the desert, a mysterious town focused on alchemy can be found. It has been said that late at night, a green abomination created from alchemy can be found wandering the streets, looking for its next victim. And now, there is a new addition to the desert. And it is unlike anything the residents have ever seen.

"Sir! We have found it." A knight shouted.

Hearing this, Neinheart turned around. "Bring me to it," he commanded. The knight quickly snapped off a salute, turned around and began walking towards the excavation site. "Finally," Neinheart thought to himself. "Let's hope this trip here is worth it."

"Sir, this is it." The knight gestured towards a giant obelisk.

Looking at the majestic size of the obelisk, Neinheart's jaw dropped in amazement. "So, the legend of Azwan was true after all." He mumbled to himself before turning around to face the knights still excavating the area. "This is it men! We have found the lost town of Azwan. According to the information we received, there are still spirits trapped in Azwan." Looking at the eager faces of his men, he continued, "We will set up camp here. Prepare your gears by tonight. Tomorrow, we will start the liberation of Azwan!"

As soon as he finished his speech, the roaring cheers of the knights drowned out every other sound in desert. A small smile flickered across Neinheart's face as he watched the knights scurry about, preparing their weapons and setting up a base camp. "Guess there will be a lot of reports to write about this," he mumbled as he prepares for his trip back to Ereve.


	2. Chapter 1: Entering Hell

Chapter 1: **Entering Hell**

Numerous grunts could be heard as a dozen knights strained to pull a pedestal into the center of the room. The pedestal was about 2 meters wide on each side and it was taller than the average man by a head. The top was a curvature decorated with many shining blue gemstones, the color that the Knights of Cygnus favored.

"Steady. Don't drop the stone!" A knight wearing a purple Reverse Taragon shouted at a group of knights carrying a huge shining, blue diamond shaped stone. "Place the Faith Stone on the pedestal properly. We need it to purify this area." He commanded while pointing at the pedestal with a dark one-handed sword. The serious look in his eyes and the near permanent frown on his face provided ample motivation, albeit negative one for the knights to do their job to the best of their abilities.

"Harbin, the new guy is here!" A Thunder Breaker shouted while waving his arms in the air excitedly. "Can I duel with him before initiating him into the squad? Please!"

"Jayden, you know the rules. If you want to fight, fight with the skeletons that keep attacking our camp, not your fellow knights." Harbin scowled, shaking his head in disapproval at Jayden's attitude.

"Aw… You are too boring, always sticking to the rules." Jayden sighed in disappointment. Fiddling with his bandanna, he walked excitedly to one of the tents set up outside Azwan. "Hurry, the new guy is waiting."

As he walked over to the tent, Harbin mentally reviewed the script that he prepared for the new arrival. Upon entering the camp, he immediately started on his speech. "Hi Sicar, my name is Harbin and I am the leader of this squad. The man on my right is Jayden, the Thunder Breaker of this squad. Our Wind Archer and Flame Wizard are currently outside maintaining their gear." He paused and took a look at the new addition to his squad. The man was obviously barely paying any attention to him, instead playing with the jewels adorning his Reverse Prinsid. Feeling irritated, he cleared his throat loudly to get Sicar's attention before continuing. "By joining this squad, you're stepping into shoes most people would rather leave unfilled. I have high expectations for you so do not slack off. One last thing, the lone wolf stuff stays behind. We are a team so you better cooperate or…"

"Or what?" Sicar interrupted with a smirk on his face, "You need my skills but I don't need you. You do your stuff and I'll do mine. It's either that or you look for another Night Walker with my skills."

Hearing this, Harbin's blood pressure rose. "How could Eckhart even promote this jerk?" He mumbled under his breath, wondering if he should look for a replacement who would be more obedient. However, a sudden flash of blue light from Azwan interrupted his thoughts. "Is… is the Faith Stone working?" He thought as he rushed towards the source of the light.

As he entered Azwan, the light emitted from the Faith Stone glowed brightly. The cool blue light bathed the entire place, cleansing it of all dark magic that was present. "Wow…" Harbin gasped as he finally saw Azwan properly without the dark magic's interference. "So, this is the entrance of Azwan." He muttered as he noticed a magnificent fountain right in the middle of the plaza. The entire plaza was covered in a red velvet carpet while the pillars are decorated with gold linings. However, numerous cobwebs hung all around the place and almost everything is covered in dust. Stepping through a door that was blocked by the dark magic moments ago, Harbin saw the entire city in ruins. Many buildings had partially collapsed and all were half buried in sand. In the distance, he could make out towers in the shape of totems.

"Thank you for helping us escape Hilla's control." A dulcet female voice rang from behind. Harbin turned around in shock, only to see six translucent figures looking at him. "The stone you have brought in has managed to get rid of Hilla's influence here, thus freeing us." The female figure continued, "Could you bring more of it to help free the spirits in this city?"

"Are… are… are you a ghost?" Harbin stammered as his mind went blank. He knew that ghosts do exist but facing not one but six for the first time frightened him.

"Yes. We were killed when Hilla betrayed us and turned us over to the Black Mage. She now controls all the spirits trapped in Azwan, turning them into her slaves." A bead of tear rolled down her eye as she pleaded, "Please save these spirits. If only I was strong enough to save them on my own." She choked, "I… I'm really not fit to be a shamaness of Azwan."

"And now you realize your failure," a ghost carrying a cane rebuked. He stepped forward, with his cape flowing magnificently behind him. "My name is Iason. I am the king of Azwan, or was till it was captured. This woman here is Medina." He spat, showing intense dislike while saying her name. "The four behind me are Woodwan, Longorias, Popodom and Jean Pierre. Other than Jean, the rest were my ministers. I would like to thank you for freeing us. However, it is futile to challenge Hilla. She was the best shamaness in Azwan, even before she turned." He warned, with a hint of pride when speaking of Hilla.

"Enough!" Harbin commanded. "I do not care how powerful Hilla is. Our Empress' orders are to liberate Azwan and that's what we will do." Gesturing to Jayden, he spoke, "Get the squad to prepare their gears. We will head out to the next area once another Faith Stone arrives."

Looking downhill, he saw hundreds of skeletons and wolves preparing for another assault on their base. "This is going to be hell." He whispered, before heading back to check on his squad.


End file.
